Montana State Legislator Jonathan Windy Boy Target Of Smear Campaign

HELENA, Mont., March 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Civil rights advocacy group, The Human Solution, is condemning what it sees as the manipulation of abuse claims to further a political agenda of a smear campaign against Montana State Legislator Jonathan Windy Boy.

Montana State Legislator Jonathan Windy Boy, the subject of an alleged workplace harassment complaint filed in January 2018 by a fellow lawmaker, was named in a recent AP article as the primary motivation behind the enactment of new polices and procedures aimed at correcting harassment in the workplace.

Both the alleged (unnamed) victim and Windy Boy had signed State Legislative Service documents reserving their privacy rights during, and subsequent to, completion of the March 2018 investigation report produced as a result of the allegations.

In spite of the duo’s specific instructions regarding their privacy rights, the legislature’s Legal Services office released a redacted copy of the investigative report to the Associated Press.

Although names of the lawmakers and witnesses were redacted from the document, the AP article reported that ex-Speaker of the House, Austin Knudsen, identified Jonathan Windy Boy as the subject of the confidential internal investigation, a serious breach of legal and ethical privacy mandates.

During a phone interview, Senate Majority Leader Fred Thomas said, “I have no comment in regards to the issue with Jonathan Windy Boy.” When asked about the anti-harassment rules that he co-authored being in line with the #MeToo movement, he stated, “This has absolutely nothing to do with the #MeToo movement. This was simply an upgrading of the rules and regulations regarding harassment and how it is dealt with by our HR Department. That’s all it is – a simple upgrade.”

Multiple questions posed on the same subject in a follow-up call to the Montana Legislative Legal Services office were avoided by the administrative spokesperson who said “no comment” to each question asked on the subject, except to the final question: “What are the legal ramifications for elected officials breaking these privacy agreements?” The spokesperson replied, “no comment, but yes that is a very good question.”

The public document policy underlying legal mandates that guide the release of investigative reports states: “This office recognizes its obligation to allow the examination of public documents pursuant to Article II, section 9, of the Montana Constitution. However, Montana’s constitutional right to know is not absolute and ArticleII, section 10, provides that public disclosure is not required in cases where the demand for individual privacy clearly exceeds the public’s right to know. “

The Human Solution is withholding the redacted investigation to protect those parties who remain – so far – unnamed in this ongoing controversy.

On March 21, 2018, Mr. Windy Boy voluntarily stepped down from his position as chairman of the State Tribal Relations Committee. The provided link is to the two emails written in his resignation of the position: https://www.scribd.com/document/400997465/State-Tribal-Relations-Committee-Resignation. A partial piece of his resignation is quoted here, “Please accept my resignation from the committee at this time. This decision was not taken lightly. A lot of things have come up in my life.”

Rocky Boy Reservation Elder & tribal legal consultant, Duncan Standing Rock, said, “This news story is so full of innuendo and half-truths that you have to go through it line by line to pull the truth from the fiction. You must look at the man’s voting record and the laws that he has authored. He has a clear history of pushing women’s rights, disenfranchised peoples’ and Native American peoples’ rights as his core agenda. This is a history that his opposition does not appreciate.”

Jonathan Windy Boy recently broke his long-standing silence related to the controversy stating, “I decided to resign from the interim committee, because I felt it was for the higher good of the committee, the good work the committee does, and the work I do in my main job conflicts with the dates of the committee and my day job compelled me to this decision. Not because of guilt. The only thing I’m guilty of is being a single man asking a single lady out for dinner and she accepted. What no one has said in the claim, in the report or in the media is that she accepted my offer to go out. The next thing I knew, the situation elevated into this.”

Mr. Windy Boy continued, “There are signed agreements from both parties involved. I respect those individuals’ right to privacy since my constitutional rights to privacy have been trampled. I have the right to defend myself. There have been no charges, no adjudication and no disposition. No laws were broke. This is all politics.”

The elder, Duncan Standing Rock, added, “Mr. Windy Boy is a champion of our people and the only voice that we have in the legislature. The people that are defaming his reputation should be careful to not wake the sleeping giant that is our people’s vote.”

It is to note that all of these bills were killed in committee except for the 2015 Indian language immersion programs bill.

Human Solution International, Native American Rights DivisionThe Human Solution is a comprehensive and growing civil rights non-profit organization that advocates for disenfranchised peoples’ rights throughout the country. The Human Solution international 501c3 Native American Rights Division supports justice and equality for all. We take claims of harassment and abuse seriously and believe that a claim must rise to the level of illegality so as to not dilute the growing and all important civil rights movement of our time. Additionally, in a world of increasing media coverage and in the interest of justice, information must be released lawfully and without bias to protect the rights of all.

Everywhere (January 2, 2019)- We have a special request from cannabis lifer Craig Cesal. Craig has drafted a letter that he is asking everyone to send to their Congressman(men) and senators. Simply copy and paste the following letter- put the correct date and your name and address, print and sign and drop in the mail. Let’s show him an amazing show of support by flooding our congressmen and senators with letters.

(Your name and address) (Date)

(Congressman/Senator name),

The war on drugs was launched in a speech by President Nixon on June 17, 1971, The Drug Enforcement Agency was born and the Controlled Substance Act criminalized, at the Federal level, a variety of drug offences.

In the 1980’s violent crime rates were on the rise, and drug activity was seen as the underlying culprit. In an effort to stem the pervasive violent crime, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 was enacted. This raised the penalty for distributing drugs including marijuana to up to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Over 4,000 federal prisoners now languish in federal prisons serving life sentences. In one example, Craig Cesal, who was a 42 year old truck repair shop owner in 2002, serviced trucks for a company which used them to traffic marijuana. Although he had no prior criminal record, he was sentenced to life in prison under the drug conspiracy statute.

The intention of the War on Drugs was to stem violent crime, but under federal law, non-murder violent crimes carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. As an example, attempt to commit murder, 18 USC 1113, carries up to 20 years in prison. Also bearing up to 20 year sentences , Section 1716, mailing anything by Postal Service with the intent to kill; section 1959(a), assault with a dangerous weapon resulting in serious bodily injury; section 1991, entry to a train to commit murder; section 2275, placing a bomb on an American vessel with intent to injure; and even section 2384, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the government of The United States or to levy war against them . But, a marijuana crime carries up to life in prison and the courts impose it.

The War on Drugs has failed. It has not impacted violent crime, which still affects many of our inner cities. Drugs are stronger, and cheaper, and even more plentiful than they were in 1986 when the up to life statute was enacted. Many people suffer, such as Craig Cesal under life sentences which are disproportionate to their crime. Most states have reduced drug penalties and thirty-one states have legalized marijuana distribution in some form. Most experts have concluded there is no link between violent and drugs, especially marijuana.

Drug crime penalties should be brought into parity with non-murder violent crimes, which have an obvious victim. Some say drug distribution has many victims, but these victims are the same as those who buy cigarettes and alcohol. Drug distribution has destroyed many people and even whole neighborhoods, and like cigarettes and alcohol should be regulated by law. If left to local authorities life sentences for drugs are extremely rare, and never imposed on first time offenders. It is time for the federal government to follow the lead of the states which have largely lowered the penalties for drug activity since 1986. Drug rehabilitation has effectively replaced imprisonment in many cases, and recidivism rates have diminished with the reduced penalties. Marijuana offenses have been excised, except for the most egregious distribution offenses under state law (for those without permits). Antiquated federal drug statutes have left many families bearing the brunt of prison sentences which are not proportionate to the crime.

Nearly one-half of the 180,000 federal prisoners are serving sentences for drug offences. Their sentences are generally three to four times the sentences borne by bank robbers, sex traffickers, those who assault or shoot law enforcement officials, and arsonists. These sentences are disproportionate to the crimes and deserve the attention of congress.

The War on Drugs has failed, the experiment is over. Drug statutes should be brought into parity with violent crimes statutes, wherefore a drug crime should carry a range of imprisonment from probation, to up to 20 years in prison. This would serve to save tax dollars, and would save the injury to the families left behind by those, such as Craig Cesal who was taken away from his young children to serve his life for marijuana sentence.

The drug statutes should be amended by Congressional action to impose a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Sincerely, (name)

Visit The Human Solution International at http://www.thsintl.org to find information on how you can help end prohibition because, “No One Should Go To Jail For A Plant!”

About The Human Solution International:THSI is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, THSI is a grassroots, civil rights organization of concerned citizens focused on restoring the rights of those negatively affected by cannabis prohibition with education, active support networks, a legal clearinghouse and peaceful protest.

The Human Solution International

A 501(c)(3) Civil Rights Organization

Email: thehumansolutioninternational@gmail.com

http://www.thsintl.org

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THSI Election Results are in!

Everywhere (September 28, 2018)- THSI’s second open election was a resounding success. We had a 45% voter turnout. Thank you all who participated.

A big welcome to new board members Pete Yeaple, Peggy Kimmel, Glenn Keeling and Lora Roberts.

Visit The Human Solution International at http://www.thsintl.org to find information on how you can help end prohibition because, “No One Should Go To Jail For A Plant!”

About The Human Solution International:THSI is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, THSI is a grassroots, civil rights organization of concerned citizens focused on restoring the rights of those negatively affected by cannabis prohibition with education, active support networks, a legal clearinghouse and peaceful protest.